"Voters (to) decide whether they want to ban flavored tobacco products"
The Los Angeles Times interviewed Dr. Michael Ong about a November ballot measure prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products
California voters will decide in November whether to uphold or block a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in 2020 that banned the sale of certain flavored tobacco products, an effort by anti-tobacco advocates to stop a youth vaping crisis and weaken the industry’s influence in the state.
Senate Bill 793 would have prohibited retailers in California from selling flavored tobacco products, popular among teens, with exceptions made for hookah, some cigars and loose-leaf tobacco. The bill passed the Legislature with bipartisan support, despite intense lobbying by the tobacco industry and other interest groups.
After it was signed, opponents gathered enough signatures from Californians to put the issue on the statewide ballot, which delayed the law’s implementation until voters could weigh in on the new policy. It will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot as Proposition 31.
Faculty Referenced by this Article
![James Macinko](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-07/Macinko%2C%20J_500x500_10.jpg?itok=bsG1e-s6)
Professor of Community Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management, and Associate Dean for Research
![Faculty/staff profile placeholder image](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-07/person-placeholder.jpg?itok=Yj28CoTl)
EMPH Academic Program Director with expertise in healthcare marketing, finance, and reproductive health policy, teaching in the EMPH, MPH, MHA program
Nationally recognized health services researcher and sociomedical scientist with 25+ years' experience in effectiveness and implementation research.
![Faculty/staff profile placeholder image](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-07/person-placeholder.jpg?itok=Yj28CoTl)
Dr. Ron Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Departments of Health Policy and Management.
Related Content
![Dr. Tomas J. Aragon](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-05/12.29.20_AragonT_Suit.jpg?itok=aHsWRASO)
Dr. Aragón, the California State Public Health Officer, will speak at UCLA Fielding’s ceremony on June 14, 2024
Read Full Article![CHPR_2024_firearms_suiciderisk_thumbnail](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/PastedGraphic-1_0.png?itok=S5VRCKdY)